A non-profit group that started in the Tri-Cities and helps grant the wishes of terminally ill children will see its fundraiser go nationwide this year.
Jordan Birch, co-founder of Now That's Ugly Society, said his organization has "empowered" The Children's Wish Foundation to launch its Ugly Sweater Day campaign across Canada.
Sponsored in part by The Tri-City News, Ugly Sweater Day takes place on the third Friday in December; this year's event is on Dec. 21.
"We're really stoked that it will happen across Canada," Birch said. "It means a lot more children with life-threatening illnesses will be able to have their wish come true."
The Port Moody resident said the society will continue to spread its Ugly Sweater Run series - which last year saw an event at Coquitlam's Town Centre Park - as well as host its Original Ugly Christmas Sweater Party at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver; the latter fundraiser is now in its 13th year.
Last year, the society collected $20,000 for The Children's Wish Foundation, which will pay for two wishes. And one of the two kids awarded a wish was a Coquitlam girl who flew with her family to the Disney resort in Hawaii.
This year, Birch said the target is set at $100,000, which would allow the foundation to grant 10 wishes to sick kids.
Birch said support from the mayors of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Vancouver has enabled the society to seek proclamations from other mayors across Canada for Ugly Sweater Day.
"It's a movement that started small and is now creating smiles everywhere," Birch said.
The society picked the The Children's Wish Foundation in 2012 as its signature charity in honour of a young Coquitlam resident who was battling cancer. Through donations, it sent the local girl and her family to Disneyland; she died a short time afterward.
To register your team or learn more about the cause, visit uglysweaterday.com.
